Lynch exploded during the second half of last season and Bush was a consistent double-digit scorer from Week 8 until the end of the year.

Both backs had forgettable first-half results and don’t have very consistent track records, but their ceiling will leave people reaching.

Then there’s Michael Vick (PHI).

Vick’s last two preseason games have been a microcosm of what makes drafting the quarterback so dangerous. We all know just how uncanny Vick’s stats can be as we witnessed in 2010. But Vick has been injury prone throughout his career, missing 11 games since joining Philadelphia.

Last season, Vick still finished 17th overall in points scored in fantasy and was the 11th-best fantasy QB, so his 2011 campaign wasn’t anything close to a failure.

To draft him in the third-, fourth- and fifth-rounds isn’t exactly a reach. But he missed critical weeks a year ago — Weeks 11, 12 and 13, when fantasy owners are vying for playoff position — and his recent rib injury is obviously cause for concern.

It just proves why drafting Vick too high may not be your best option. But if you do, make sure you grab a more reliable backup QB.

As for other high-upside players, they don’t have to be injured to be ineffective. They could just play at a low level for weeks. Remember how explosive Mike Wallace (PIT) was in the first half of the 2011 season? By season’s end, Antonio Brown (PIT) was outscoring him.

High-upside players are great, especially when you’re in a pinch when others don’t perform as well as expected. They can be the difference in winning and losing your weekly matchup.

You just have to wary and draft wisely to build around inconsistencies in later rounds.

Where have all the Cowboys gone?

Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten (DAL) have all suffered injuries in the last week.

Austin has a hamstring injury and I swear he’s had a hammy injury for the last two seasons. He’ll be out for the remainder of preseason.

Bryant has a knee injury that may or may not be considered serious and Witten lacerated his spleen.

I’m not sure yet what this does to Dallas quarterback Tony Romo’s value, but with his top three targets potentially hobbled going into Week 1 of the regular season, it likely doesn’t help much.

By the way, the Cowboys start their year off early taking on the NY Giants in league’s season-opener Thursday, September 5, which means they have less time to heal than most.

Romo could fall a round or two as a result, so keep your eyes open in drafts.

The Purple Drank list — Presented by JaMarcus Russell

Overvalued or overrated. It doesn’t take much to land on The Purple Drank list for the preseason. These are the duds I’m projecting out for the 2012 season.

Either I don’t trust their projected value, don’t care for the team’s usage of the player or just think they stink and always have.

Throughout the season, I’ll project each week which players I believe won’t live up to billing or just plain can’t and shouldn’t start for your team. Be careful, I’ve been wrong plenty of times on this list — regular readers know just how many times I’ve ended up putting Lynch on here, only to look foolish and eat crow the following week.

Next week, I’ll unveil my six “Don’t Sleep on my Sleepers” preseason list. Some won’t exactly be sleepers, but players that are undervalued, according to average draft position.